Hello Rainmakers,
We’ve got word of what Thin Cats founder Ravi Anand is up to, why LDC are putting down roots in the arboriculture consultancy field, and a fairly big deal in Scotland to take Ashtead off the stock market.
Before we get to that. Thanks to everyone who came along and enjoyed our Rainmakers lunches in Leeds and Manchester this week. Some thoughts on that later.
But first, a reminder: this is free to all who have signed up. Rainmakers subscribers get at least two unique pieces a week, and also full access to our back catalogue of investigations, scoops, and insights, including updates from The Secret Investor, interviews with entrepreneurs, and the leaders from VC and PE investors like Endless, Foresight, Mercia, and LDC.
Stonbury has put down roots in arboriculture with the acquisition of Derbyshire’s Thompsons Group – adding 50 staff and a fresh crop of environmental expertise to its growing empire.
The LDC-backed water specialist is branching out beyond pipes and pumps, snapping up the tree surgery and environmental services business as it doubles down on its buy-and-build strategy.
Thompsons brings a forest of new skills, from vegetation management and ecology surveys to habitat creation, fencing and large-scale tree planting. Its founder, Jack Thompson, and team will stay rooted in the business.
For Stonbury, which works across drinking water, wastewater, river restoration and flood management, the deal promises greener pastures and more opportunities to cross-sell services.
CEO Colin Perry-Davis said: “This acquisition marks an important growth milestone for Stonbury, and Thompsons Group brings exceptional technical expertise, a talented team and a proven track record in its market.
“It broadens our service capabilities and enables us to offer truly integrated solutions to our customer base, from water treatment and asset management through to environmental and ecological services.”
Thompson added: “Joining Stonbury is the right move for Thompsons Group at this stage of our development.
“Our environmental and arboriculture services sit naturally alongside Stonbury’s water expertise, and there’s real potential to cross-sell and deliver enhanced solutions to customers across both businesses.”
The deal follows fresh investment in Stonbury from existing backer LDC and new minority co-investor Federated Hermes. LDC first backed the business in December 2022, after which Stonbury has expanded across wastewater, environmental, and technology-enabled services.
LDC partner David Bains said: “The Stonbury team has built strong momentum over the past four years.
Financial terms remain under wraps, but the deal has clearly given Stonbury plenty of scope to grow its green credentials – without leaving its water roots behind.
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Aberdeen-headquartered Ashtead Technology reached an agreement this week on the terms of an acquisition by New York private equity firm Ember Infrastructure Management.
Shareholders will get 615 pence per share, valuing the company at £505m - representing a premium of approximately 80.9% to the closing price per share of 340 pence on 22 September.
Once the deal is done, the stock exchange will lose yet another Scottish company, as Ember plans to take the subsea tech firm private.
“Ember will provide greater financial resources and access to long-term capital and enable longer-term business and strategic planning, allowing management to invest with greater flexibility and pursue opportunities that may have taken longer to realise under the constraints of the public markets,” read a statement.
The deal expected to complete either late in the fourth quarter, or early next year.
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A specialist lender targeting established UK businesses is aiming to deploy more than £200m in its first year, with plans to grow annual lending originations beyond £1bn as it seeks to address a funding gap for mid-sized companies.
Ignite Funding Partners, founded by former ThinCats managing director Ravi Anand, has entered the UK lending market offering facilities of between £1m and £25m to businesses pursuing expansion, acquisitions, ownership transitions and refinancing.
The business is assembling £500m in lending capital from institutional investors and aims to build its loan book to almost £1bn within three years.
Ignite is targeting established businesses with strong management teams and sustainable profits, particularly those operating in business services, technology and professional services.
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The founding family of Genius Roof Solutions has sold a majority stake in the Lancashire roofing products business to BCF Equity Partners. That’s BCF, not BGF.
The deal gives partial exit for the Hall family, who retain a 25% stake, while providing working capital for the Leyland-based manufacturer and supplier of roofing and solar installation products.
The value of the deal was not disclosed, but in the year to the end of March 2026, the business made £2.4m of EBITDA profits on turnover of £6.9m.
BCF Equity Partners will support the existing management team, led by Liz Cammack, Jemma Green and Julia White, as the business pursues its next phase of growth.
Genius Roof Solutions is the trading name of Hallclip Limited, which was founded in 1996 when roofer Jimmy Hall invented the Hallclip, a product designed to make roofing installation simpler, safer and more efficient.
The family established the business in 2004 and developed a portfolio of specialist products serving the roofing and solar installation markets.
Logros Advisory Partners, through managing partner Brian Higgins, advised Genius Roof Solutions’ shareholders on the transaction.
Lee Dinsdale, managing partner and co-founder of Logros, said: “We identified BCF because we spoke with a range of family offices and private offices that were more interested in doing a deal than trade buyers.
“We had spoken to BCF before about another deal and then went back to them about Genius. We actually had a few offers on the table for Genius from private offices, and the family went with BCF.”
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Financial services, technology and data company, Fintel, now has valuable access to technology used by firms responsible for about 40 per cent of UK residential and buy-to-let mortgage applications. This is courtesy of a £38.4m deal confirmed today, in which Huddersfield-based Fintel has acquired the remaining shares in Mortgage Brain Holdings. It bought an initial 5.8 per cent stake in Mortgage Brain for £1.5m back in March 2024.
The latest deal equates to a significant expansion of Fintel’s Software & Data division, bringing together mortgage sourcing, affordability, customer management and submission technology alongside its existing wealth management and financial advice platforms. Fintel explains the takeover forms part of its strategy of using acquisitions to build a broader tech platform for financial advisers, with recurring software revenues and proprietary data increasingly central to its growth ambitions.
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Early-career professionals should build relationships, keep their work authentic and develop the skills AI cannot replace. That was the advice from the three guests at the Rainmakers Lunch at Manchester Hall, where three of the 2026 award winners share their insights.
Josh Bean of BGF urged junior colleagues not to rely on AI to do their thinking or drafting for them, warning that unreviewed AI-written work is easy to spot. Ed Gale from Clearwater said investing in genuine relationships helps people stand out and supports them throughout their careers. While EY’s Helen Spence added that collaboration, creativity and relationship-building will become even more valuable as technology advances—and encouraged people to nurture their peer networks early.
The conversation also turned to the corporate finance market, where the guests described greater caution but continuing opportunities for strong businesses.
Josh Bean said the award winning team at BGF was willing and eager to keep backing good companies despite short-term uncertainty: “We’re still keen to back robust businesses, no matter sort of short-term headwinds.” He described occasions when competitors had stepped back, especially during the “SaaSageddon” when software valuations tumbled due to fears over AI.
Happily, he said, his team stay engaged with management.
Helen Spence said investors and acquirers remained active, but were taking more time to assess opportunities: “People are doing more diligence. It’s taking longer to do those deals because they want to make sure that they’re investing in the right businesses.”
Ed Gale pointed to the growing importance of the US for companies considering a transaction, which puts Clearwater in a good position given their recent transition of ownership to KeyBank: “The US is increasingly becoming really important for businesses when they come to exit or seek investment.” He said Clearwater still intended to grow while retaining its focus on entrepreneurs and regional deals from expanded offices in Manchester and Birmingham.
Bean also reflected on the Voicescape investment and exit, saying the social housing software business had outperformed its investment case despite market volatility. He said his preference was for realistic plans over overly ambitious forecasts, which he felt helped build credibility with management teams and investment committees.
Spence, EY’s deal-origination professional, and winner of the Changemaker award at this year’s Rainmaker awards, spoke about the value of long-term relationships and mentoring, as well as charitable treks through the Jordanian desert and to the Cambodian icon of Angkor Wat, that raised more than £60,000 each for good causes. Gale, named Rainmaker of the Year, said the firm wanted to preserve the relationship-led approach that had shaped its reputation.
The event closed with recognition of the three award winners and a reminder that the Rainmakers Summit is due to return on 24th March next year.
Thanks to Codurance and Gilbanks for sponsoring the event.
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